The instant invention relates to a tapered article labelling machine and the method provided thereby for high-speed accurate-register continuous application of generally crescent shaped labels to a successive stream of curved and tapered articles in the form of frusto-conical cans or containers, and for the purposes of illustration and discussion herein the curved and tapered article shown is represented by that type of seamless metal container and structure presently being manufactured and popularly used for the packing of fish such as tuna or salmon, and the specific illustration of such a container and discussion thereof as herein presented is to be regarded as exemplary only and not limiting of the type of tapered article that may be labeled by said machine and method.
Under the circumstances of current and increasing competitive conditions in all areas of business activity, and particularly in the food processing industry it is incumbent upon operators to reduce as much as possible contributing cost factors such as those incurred in the shipment of empty food containers to processing plant locations. In a continuing effort to minimize empty container shipment costs many such containers are now made of aluminum to reduce shipment weight, and now many are also formed in tapered configuration so the empty containers are not only lighter but may be "nested" for shipment thereby also reducing the shipping volume. Although shipping cost and convenience advantages are realized as aforementioned in the use of tapered containers, the application of label indicia thereto up to the time of instant machine and method invention has been slow and costly thereby defeating the shipping cost and convenience advantages otherwise obtained.
In the past tapered food containers and the label indicia therefor was first printed in a generally crescent shaped layout on a flat piece of metal, then die-cut in a crescent form from the flat piece and thereafter formed into a cylindrical tapered shape with the ends thereof joined by a seam along the side along with the bottom. After being thus formed, nesting of the containers for shipment generally resulted in scratching and marring of the printed label.
With the advent of the use of various plastic materials in accomplishing high-speed formation of seamless tapered and curved containers, such as disposable drinking cups and cottage cheese containers, a printing method and apparatus for applying ink to the curved and tapered surfaces thereof by holding and axially rotating the empty tapered article in tangential rolling contact with a rotating plate was developed, generally as respectively taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,398,678 to Usko dated Aug. 27, 1968, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,162,115 to Bauer dated Dec. 22, 1964. Although the rotating plate printing technique of tapered container labelling was satisfactory in terms of quality, again, the process was slow and costly and thus neutralized the other cost savings advantages gained by using tapered containers, and did not accommodate the labelling of containers filled with product.
Other types of irregularly shaped cylindrical containers such as perfume bottles and the like had pre-printed die cut adhesived paper or metallic labels applied thereto by means of a machine having a rotating platform somewhat similar to that of the instant machine invention, but however, provided with a plurality of radially extending jaws in which bottles with such adhesively applied labels were then separately clamped to provide compression during adhesive set, being as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 1,413,590 to Kallenbach dated Apr. 25, 1922, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,567,149 also to Kallenbach dated Jan. 11, 1924.
With respect to glue supply and application mechanisms and label feed means as pertains to the instant machine invention, the respective teachings of Hesson as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 2,626,075 dated Jan. 20, 1953, and his later issued U.S. Pat. No. 2,722,333 dated Nov. 1, 1955, are pertinent and exemplary.
It should be understood that some of the features of the instant invention have, in some respects as to both machine and the method provided thereby certain structural and functional similarities to teachings separately set forth in the prior art disclosures heretofore cited and briefly discussed. However, as will be hereinafter pointed out, the instant invention in both machine and method is distinguishable from said earlier inventions in one or more ways in that the present invention has utility features and new and useful advantages, applications, and improvements in the art of tapered article labelling machines and methods not heretofore known.